


Metamorphoses

by ddolica



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-23
Updated: 2013-12-01
Packaged: 2018-01-02 09:47:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1055335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ddolica/pseuds/ddolica
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Annabeth breaks up with Percy, Chiron begins assigning him various mini-quests to get his mind off his sadness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

_“We know how to speak many false things as though they were true; but we know too, when we wish, to utter true things.”_ The Muses, to the Speaker _\--_ **Hesiod’s Theogony**

**- <> -**

The summer Annabeth broke up with Percy it was such big news the campers thought it would be the image on this year’s bead, a son of Poseidon openly weeping, and a daughter of Athena with a face bright red from shame and anger and embarrassment curled into herself next to him.

“But I love you,” said Percy. “How can you—“

“It’s not that I don’t love you,” Annabeth answered, breath coming out of her too fast, so that she had to take another one, deep, to keep from hyperventilating. “In fact, I think that’s always been the problem.”

“I don’t understand,” he ran his shaking hands through his hair.

Annabeth sighed, “I love you _too_ much. Ever since we first met when we were twelve years old, my life has revolved around the hero from my prophecy.” He reached out for her hand, but she took a step back. “I’ve never gotten a chance to be myself. We started dating before you could grow facial hair. Before either of us were really old enough to know what we wanted.” She looked up, straight into his sea-green eyes. “I need to figure out who I am outside the context of our relationship.”

It sounded scripted, and it probably was. Later Percy would sit alone in the dark picturing her standing in front of the mirror reciting it over and over again like an oral presentation, until her voice stopped shaking and no more tears flowed from her eyes.

“We’ll never be apart,” he said, “We promised, in Tartarus.”

“We won’t be, not really,” Annabeth said, staring at his shoes. “My heart will always be with you. And yours will be with me.”

This was scripted too. Maybe read out of a greeting card at the dollar store.

“Then why bother breaking up?” Percy demanded. “I can tell you who you are. Anyone at this camp can remind you that Annabeth Chase is fierce and kind and smarter than anyone else on--,” he hesitated, “on the planet.”

She smiled ruefully. “That’s what people tell me. But isn’t it more important that I can say it for myself?”

Percy didn’t have an answer. He stepped closer, and this time she didn’t move away.

“You gave Bob a choice, remember? You told him to choose who he wanted to be. You told him that it was something he had to do for himself. Won’t you give me that chance too?” She leaned in, as if to kiss him, but then shook her head, and stepped back. The she gave him one more meaningful look before walking away, her ponytail swishing behind her, golden strands glittering in the noonday sun, and her shoulders already beginning to rack with sobs.

No one was sure how they were going to fit all of that on the bead, but surely there was somebody in Hephaestus with a really really small pen.

It was meant to be kept quiet, and so, of course, as it always goes, everyone knew before Percy had even finished wiping the wet off his face.

 

 


	2. Task One

**PART ONE: THE DIVINE COMEDY**

Task One

Percy spent roughly thirty six hours locked in Cabin Three before he went out for food, at which he point he grabbed enough to last a few more days, tossed a roll into the fire and muttered a quick prayer, turned back around to greet the little girl who was crouched, tending the hearth, and then shuffled back into the cabin before anyone could pretend to not know why his eyes were red or make any attempts at comfort.

Various knocks on his door and various voices shouting from the other side of the wall couldn’t bring him out from his cage of sorrow. Percy’s heart felt like it was tearing itself apart. He would’ve gone back to the pit if it meant being with Annabeth again. He wanted to be mad at her, because that would make it easier somehow, but he couldn’t bear it.

She was always right, but he loved her enough to know that even now, her reasoning was solid enough. He couldn’t pin her down, and if one day when they were forty-five she woke up hating herself and it was all his fault, he’d rather it be now, when there was still a chance of getting back together.

But if she didn’t know who she was, was he supposed to feel the same? Was there any doubt about who Percy was? He’d never really stopped to think about it. Maybe there was too much seaweed in his brain to see beyond it. Maybe past the seaweed was just more seaweed, and there was nothing deeper than that. As shallow as a fishbowl. Percy Jackson, son of the sea god, prince of puddles less than 5 inches in depth.

In the midst of this existential crisis, Clarisse La Rue, still head counselor of Cabin Five, pounded on his door. He dropped one of his last few (now stale) dinner rolls onto the bed and pulled the door open slightly, just enough to see who it was.

She sneered at the smell of him, and he nearly shut the door again, but she slammed her foot into the crack and shoved it open. “Alright shark-bait, let’s get this straight. I’m not here to let you weep on my shoulder. Chiron told one the Hermes kids to send you up to the Big House, but she was too afraid of the shadow looming over this place like you’re Hades’ mistress. Now get your ass up there or I’ll personally see to it that you’re lashed to the back of a chariot and dragged there.”

Percy stared at her, speechless.

“I’ll give you sixty seconds to wipe your nose and change your shirt,” Clarisse said with a voice of finality.  
“You can check your misery at the door.”

-<>-

Percy entered the Big House slowly, not sure what to expect. Probably a lecture about responsibility. He hadn’t taught any of his shifts at the various lessons and hadn’t bothered to make sure anyone could cover him for the past several days. For not setting a good example for post-breakup etiquette when relationships came and went as easily at Camp Half-Blood, with the same three-day average, as they did at other institutions of young teens. Next time an Aphrodite kid breaks somebody’s heart they’re going to pull-a-Percy and not leave bed for a week.

Percy wandered in and out of a few doorways, and finally found Chiron sitting in his wheelchair in the living room.

“Percy, my boy, good to see you,” Chiron smiled.

“Yeah,” Percy said softly, and then stopped, surprised at the sound of his own voice. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d spoken. Was it to Annabeth? “Listen, I’m sorry about—“

“What?” Chiron motioned to one of the overstuffed chairs. “No, no, no, my boy. I’ve actually called on you to ask for a favor of sorts.”

“Oh,” Percy sat down. “A favor?”

“Yes,” Chiron coughed, “You see, there is a…cat stuck in our tree.”

Percy raised his eyebrow, “Um…?”

“Thalia’s pine tree. On Half-Blood Hill. There is some kind of cat stuck in it.” Chiron explained.

“Peleus should be able to scare it off,” Percy offered.

Chiron shook his head, “Unfortunately this cat seems to be letting off some kind…terrible odor that keeps Peleus from approaching it.”

“So I have to get the rank cat out of the tree. Is that all?”

“For now, yes,” Chiron said. “I suspect there may be another task afterwards. There’s never a day without drama in a world like ours, Percy. And I think keeping you busy might help keep your, ah, your mind clear.”

-<>-

Approaching the bottom of the hill, he could already start to smell something foul. He looked up and saw a pathetic-looking Peleus gathered around the base of the tree, a face that looked suspiciously like it was trying, with immense effort, to keep a meal down without throwing it up.

He was about to take another step forward, when a voice called out from behind him. “Oh my gods, Percy!”

Piper ran towards him, and before he could register much of anything, she flung her arms around him and squeezed tight. She didn’t let him go for several moments, and it wasn’t until another set of footsteps approached that she pulled away.

“Hey,” said Leo’s voice, “Maybe I should hole myself up, too, if it earns the Mclean deluxe hug.” Leo wrapped his arm around Percy’s shoulder and led him away from the base of the hill. 

“Leo!” Piper chided. She put her hand on his arm. And then to Percy, “He doesn’t mean that.”

Percy turned his head back around, “Uh, guys, I’m actually supposed to be solving the tree problem if that’s alright.”

Piper and Leo shared a glance. Leo said, “The fart-machine problem you mean.”

“Um?” Percy felt like he was being left out of some kind of telepathic conversation.

“You won’t be able to do it yourself,” Piper said. “That’s not exactly a, uh, normal cat.”

Percy perked up slightly, “You mean you’ll help me?”

Leo shook his head, “No, dude, that’s Hazel’s cat. Or well, was. Kind of.”

“More like it haunted her,” Piper continued. “You should ask her for help.”

“But first, dude, you’re skinnier than di Angelo. I feel like I’m getting a paper cut right now,” Leo laughed, “We’re gonna get you some good ol’ fashion lunch.”

-<>-

Back in his cabin, Percy threw a drachma into the fountain without ceremony, and said, in a voice far too enervated this early in the errand, “Hazel Levesque.”

The rainbow flickered, and the bustling city of New Rome came into view. He saw the back of Hazel’s head, and Frank’s face chatting amiably. After a few seconds, he saw Percy and both he and Hazel turned to face him.

“Hey Perce!” Hazel said, her smile a little too wide, excitement overflowing like cup too full, turning into pity as it dripped over the edges of her voice. “What’s up?”

“Hey Hazel. Frank,” he forced an amiable smile, but they shared a glance that said they were unconvinced. “I, uh, need your help with something. There’s a farting cat stuck in the tree at camp, and—“

“Oh gods,” Hazel sighed, and her forehead in her palm. “Gale…”

“Gale? Like the wind?” Percy asked.

Hazel shook her head. “No, like Galinthias.”

“Not helping,” he said warily. “These Greek names are honestly ridiculous.”

“Which is, I think, why Hecate just calls her Gale,” Hazel offered a smile. “Are you sure it’s a cat? Not more like a weasel?”

“I haven’t actually been up to the tree yet, to be honest,” Percy replied. “Leo and Piper just told me to call you before I even tried.”

Hazel nodded, “A good move. Gale isn’t a witch any more, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have powers from Hecate.”

As Hazel was talking, Percy’s eyes drifted to the unfocused figures in the background. A girl with long black hair was walking beside a girl with long, curly blonde hair, tied up in a ponytail. They were laughing and talking like old friends. He couldn’t see her face but he’d stared at that back enough times, while she leaned over to tie laces, when she was practicing with her dagger, when he unzipped her dress at night—

Frank saw his vacant look and followed his gaze, and then immediately scooted in front of the figures. “Code silver,” he stage-whispered to Hazel, even though they were close enough now that their arms were touching.

Hazel, startled by the noise, glanced back too. Her lips formed an ‘O’ shape and she whipped back to Percy quickly, plume of curly hair wobbling like a bubble in the wind. “Listen I’ll be right there, okay, talk to you later bye!”

Right before the image turned off, however, he saw the blond head turn, and the unfocused face stare straight at him before the mist went dark.

-<>-

When Hazel said ‘be right there’, she wasn’t kidding. It had taken various amounts of time to get from Long Island to California throughout the years, the shortest being through the Labyrinth, at only a few hours, but Hazel couldn’t have taken more than twenty minutes. He was toweling off when she walked in, and then she screamed because the sight was so scandalous, and he screamed because he was surprised she was screaming, and then Nico, who he hadn’t even seen behind her, placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her backwards, shutting the door to the cabin with them on the opposite side.

There was a pause. Furious whispers. Percy could imagine Hazel fanning herself with her hand in her 1930’s way, and he almost smiled. Almost.

“Just let us know when you’re ready,” Nico called out.

Percy pulled on some clothes, shook his head like a dog, willing the water out, and answered the door dry as rock in the desert. “Ready,” he said, and Hazel hesitated, looking at him warily, as if unable to shake the image of him in a towel (which was, he guessed, X rated nudity as far as she was concerned), before pulling him into a hug anyways.

While he appreciated it, he didn’t very much like being treated like a wounded puppy. Even if he felt like one.

They stood on the threshold like that for a minute, staring at each other, before Hazel asked, “Should we come in?”

Percy said, “Oh. Uh, let’s just get started. I think Chiron’s worried the smell is going to spread down into the valley soon.”

Hazel wrinkled her nose, “Yay.”

The three of them walked over to the hill, and her nose stayed wrinkled the whole way. Hazel tried to make small talk but Percy wasn’t in the mood for mindless chatter. Nico was fine with walking in silence and so was he, but Hazel deigned to tell a story about something cute that Frank had done, and then stopped herself, changed to something cute that Leo and Calypso had done, before she realized that was no good too and just gave up, leaving them in silence for the rest of the walk.

At the top of the hill, the pine tree loomed like an old friend. For as long as Percy had known of Camp Half-Blood, this tree was a symbol for him. An ending of his life as a troubled mortal kid, the beginning of one as a troubled demigod teen. Even after Thalia left, the tree stayed the same. The only difference was the Golden Fleece hanging on one of the lower-hanging branches, and now, the black cat curled up in the fleece like it was a luxury cat-bed.

“Soooo,” Percy had his nose plugged, and his voice came out nasally. “How do we get a cat out of a tree? Call the fire department?”

Nico began to pull his sword out, “We could just take her out by force.”

Peleus started to make a rumbling noise, and his muscles tensed.

“Nope!” Hazel shouted, pushing his arm so that the hilt fell back against the sheath. Peleus settled back down. “Neither of those. Hecate taught me how to use magic. I might as well use it.”

“Haze, could you manipulate the mist to make her see, like,” Nico shrugged, “Dinner, I guess?”

“What do cats like to eat?” Hazel asked.

“Burritos?” Percy offered. He’d never had any pets growing up. But maybe that’s why she smelled so bad. Exclusively bean and cheese-based diet.

Nico said, “How about sushi.”

Percy looked scandalized. “Fish are friends, not food.”

Hazel laughed. “Good one, shark-bait.”

Nico shook his head, “I don’t get it.”

“ _Finding Nemo_? Come on, don’t they keep a cultured society down there in the underworld?”

Nico raised an eyebrow, “Nah, that’s not really a Fields of Punishment priority.”

Percy sighed, and then said, “Well no fish, okay. How about a cheeseburger? I saw a guy with a shirt once that said something about a cat asking for a cheeseburger.”

Hazel shrugged, “Order up.” She stared at the cat and wrinkled her brow in concentration. She held in hands out in front of her, and in her hands a mirage began to appear, unsteady at first, but then Percy could smell them, too, even over the stench of the cat. Peleus looked up, the pained expression leaving his dragon face.

Percy looked up, and the cat, Gale, was shifting from her spot on the Fleece. “Good kitty,” said Percy. “Come eat some nice cheeseburgers. Yum…cheeseburgers!”

Percy stuck an elbow in Nico’s ribs. Nico coughed, “Yum, meat and cheese…and, um,” he made an exasperated face, “bun.”

“Come on Gale, come on down ya little rascal,” Hazel tried.

Gale climbed onto the branch, farted, and hopped down to a lower one.

“Good pussycat,” Hazel crooned. The smell of burgers was getting stronger, more and more tantalizing. Percy’s mouth started to water. “Why are you a cat, anyways, Gale? Probably another one of Hecate’s tricks, huh?”

The cat moved down another branch. “I’ll bet Hecate doesn’t give you burgers very often,” Percy taunted.

Meanwhile, Peleus was rising as well. Nico said quietly, “Um, guys. Dragon alert?”

Percy shook his head, “Peleus doesn’t hurt demigods.”

Nico pressed a hand against his back, “I don’t think it’s us he cares about. Hazel, your magic is a little bit _too_ good.”

The cat pounced at the same time as Peleus. Hazel pelted the plate of burgers to the side, and shouted, “Run!”

They sprinted down the hill, but Nico tripped partway. Leo and Piper were at the bottom, waiting for them. They shouted, and started up after him, but Hazel fell down beside him, and whispered in his ear, and they both started rolling down the incline like little kids. She sang, “ _Jack and Jill went up the hill to feed the cat some fast food,_ ” Percy stopped running and held his stomach. The situation was just too ridiculous and he couldn’t help the laughter from bubbling out of him.

Leo shouted, “Earthshaker, your turn, rock and roll down!”

Percy thought about not bothering, but he shrugged. Why not? He lay on his side and rolled down the hill, as Leo and Piper finished the song, “ _But Jill’s magic wooed the dragon too, and they all came tumbling after._ ”

Percy landed near somebody’s feet, and they were all tangled up, laughing like mad men. Even after the others stopped, Percy was still laughing, and he didn’t know why. Maybe he’d been so sad for so many days that all the usual joy that came out of him had been pent up, and maybe now it was all flushing out at once. Or maybe he was going crazy. One of those two, for sure.

-<>-

“Does Chiron have you do miscellaneous errands often?” Hazel asked, back at Cabin Three after dinner.

Percy shook his head, “I think this is a special occasion. He said there’s going to be plenty more, too. It’s almost like he’s trying to distract me or something,” he ended facetiously. Percy laughed bitterly. Hazel looked uncomfortable.

“Nico, why don’t you stay here for a bit?’ she said to her brother. “You can hang out with Jason, and help Percy with anything if he needs it.”

Nico looked like he was being put on the spot, which he sort of was. No, really was. Percy felt bad, “Dude, it’s okay. You’re always welcome here, of course, but I know the Hades cabin isn’t very homey.”

Nico shook his head. “No, it’s fine. Hazel’s right. If you can’t get a cat out of a tree by yourself, you’re probably going to be needing some help getting the mail and cleaning the gutters too.”

Hazel laughed, and kissed her brother on the forehead. She pointed at them both, accusingly, “Iris message us if you need anything?”

“Of course,” He answered. She hugged Percy. Then Nico held her hand and gently pushed her into a shadow, where she disappeared.

There was a pause.

“She wants some time alone with Frank,” Nico said quickly. “I shouldn’t be under her toes all the time. It’s not fair.”

Percy wasn’t sure why he was acting so nervous. Once again the son of Hades was impossible to get a read on.  “I’m sure she doesn’t mind. But I mean, I’m glad you’re staying. I think we’ve always needed some bonding time. Maybe you me and Jason and can play poker and watch an X rated film or something equally brotherhoodly.”

“Is that what _you_ do with your brother?” Nico eyed him warily.

Percy just laughed, and then he laughed again, because he could feel the sadness creeping back in and he wanted to make this moment last.


	3. Task Two

Task Two

For a few days, Nico didn’t see Percy. He spent his waking hours exploring the camp, sticking to shadows because he didn’t want to see the uneasy looks of kids when they noticed him.

When he was younger, watching them made him angry, because he knew he could never be part of their happiness. His jealousy ruled over his thoughts and emotions like martial law.

But now it was different. Nico felt himself apart from everyone else, certainly. But if there was one thing he learned from his time in the war, it was that if holding grudges was his fatal flaw, feeling sorry for himself must have been his Achilles heel.

It was actually Leo, of all people, who had managed to break through to him on the topic, after Nico reacted particularly coldly in response to a mention of the son of Poseidon.

“Holy Hades, I know you guys have a past, but seriously, hasn’t he made up for it yet?” Leo scoffed.

“Holding grudges is the fatal flaw of Hades kids,” Nico said quietly. “But I don’t think it’s him I’m mad at. I don’t think it has been for a long time.”

“You mean yourself?” Leo asked. “Nico, you can’t blame yourself for your sister’s death, you were just a kid!”

Nico narrowed his eyes, “Don’t act like you understand me. _No one_ can understand me.”

“Dude, trust me, if anyone knows what it feels like to blame yourself for your only living family member’s death, it’s me,” he replied, shaking his head. “But if you were able to forgive Percy, maybe now you should work on forgiving yourself. You can’t hold a grudge against your own heart.”

At this, Leo pulled a screw driver out of his belt and went back to tinkering on whatever little project was on his lap. Conversation over.

And so now, whenever Nico felt the hot bubble of anger begin burning in his chest, he asked himself why it was there. If it was because of a legitimate reason, he let it go, let it him fuel him, but if it had anything to do with self-pity over his own lousy lot, he pushed it away.

He practiced this at the camp. Seeing couples hold hands, he pushed his feelings away. Seeing groups of friends laughing together, he pushed his feelings away. He definitely couldn’t feel happy for them or anything, but a sense of numbness to their good fortune was better than anything he’d managed previously. Eventually, even this felt too voyeuristic, and he went to see Jason instead.

Despite his original stand-offishness towards the Golden Boy, he’d proved to be just as good a friend as an ally.

He was with Piper when Nico found him, his arm slung around her waist, her caramel complexion complementing his creamy one, like a dulce de leche sundae. Too sweet for their own good.

Nico sat down quietly, but didn’t say anything. He hadn’t gotten out of the habit acting like a ghost.

Piper glanced over and started, but said calmly, “Hey Nico.”

Jason caught his eye and smiled wide, “Hey! How’s it going?”

Nico didn’t answer. He wasn’t sure what to say, and so he didn’t say anything. Jason didn’t miss a beat. He was used to Nico’s odd behavior. “Great moves with that cat, yeah? Wished I’d been there to see it. Teaching a general ‘how to control elemental spirits’ lesson though.” He lifted up an arm to show off a couple slashes still in the process of healing. “Luckily nobody but me has to deal with venti quite yet.”

Nico almost smiled. Jason's happiness was of being the only one unfortunate enough to bear the burden of his particular godly parent. Better him than anyone else. Nico wondered what it would be like to feel that way.

“Hazel took care of it just fine,” Nico finally said.

“What’s up with you, though? We haven’t seen in you forever,” Piper chimed in.

Nico paused, “Not much. The usual. Have you guys seen, ah, you know, around?”

Jason’s eyes widened slightly. “Ah, yeah! We’ve been taking turns getting him out of his cabin. He even taught a swordplay lesson earlier.”

“But some thirteen-year old from Ares knocked him off his feet, so we pulled him out for now,” Piper added with a sigh.

Nico reached into his pocket and pulled out a pomegranate. He scored it with a long fingernail and cracked it open, putting two seeds into his mouth.

“I heard Chiron has another mini-quest planned for him,” Jason said. “Supposed to head up there before sun-down. You’re going, right?”

Nico shrugged, “That’s the plan. I probably shouldn’t, though. I’m not even sure why I’m here. Hazel kind of just—“

“No!” Jason said, a little too loud. “No, I mean, yes, you should go. I was going to go too. I heard something about brotherly bonding.”

Piper rolled her eyes. “I hope he’ll do okay. You guys will keep on eye on him, right?”

Jason nodded, “Of course.”

“I thought giving him space at first would be good, but I’ve never been a very successful child of Aphrodite.”

“I’m sure it was right,” Jason offered.

“It’s just,” she sighed, “Him and Annabeth, you know? They were like this pillar or strength and love that all the kids turned to. Like, ‘The world is ending, but you know, at least Percy and Annabeth are together.’”

Nico felt bile start to rise in his throat. He stared at the faint gray scar running across the middle of the floor of the dining pavilion. The burning came up quicker than he could push it down, and he was about to stand up, when Jason said, “You know, I think we should go ahead and find him now, yeah Nico?”

Jason gave him a reassuring smile, and Nico stood up, leaving his uneaten pomegranate to be cleaned up by nymph. “Yeah, okay.”

-<>-

“What’s the damage this time?” Percy asked morosely. Chiron was out of his chair now, and his horse body was smooth, sleek, and gleaming white.

Nico and Jason were behind him, and when Percy sat down, they both stayed standing, neither feeling quite at home enough in the Big House to make themselves comfortable.

“Your brother needs your help, Percy,” Chiron said simply.

Percy sat up straight, “Tyson? Is something wrong? Is he okay?”

Chiron waved him off, “Oh Tyson’s fine, I’m sure. It’s Triton, he’s experiencing some—“

“Oh,” Percy’s lip curled in disgust. “That guy. We don’t really…get along.”

“That didn’t stop Jason from freeing Juno,” Chiron motioned towards the blonde boy.

“Hey now,” Jason raised his hand. “I didn’t do that to set an example of anything. She’s family.”

“Exactly,” said Chiron. “Just like Triton is family.” He raised his eyebrows in a I-will-win-this-argument-so-don’t-even-bother expression that Percy was familiar with.

Percy’s eyes narrowed, “Well, what exactly is he having trouble with? Why would he possibly need my help?”

“You’re Percy Jackson,” Jason finally sat down, “Everybody needs your help.”

Chiron cleared his throat, “I believe it has something to do with Lamia.”

-<>-

Jason was the first to ask, “So how are we supposed to go underwater? I mean, that’s where Triton lives, right?”

“Yeah,” Percy breathed out. “Haven't quite figured that out yet.”

“Maybe the Hecate cabin can offer something to help? Some kind of underwater spell or, I don’t know, something.” Nico said from behind them.

Percy touched his chin, then shrugged. “Might as well.”

The Goddess of Magic’s cabin was at the far end of the omega, Cabin Twenty. Lou Ellen and Alabaster sat outside, talking and gesturing wildly with their hands as though trying to cast spells with exclusively arm movements.

Nico didn’t know Lou Ellen, but he knew Alabaster wasn’t supposed to be welcome at the camp. He’d fought on the side of Kronos during the Battle for Manhattan.

“Hey,” Percy raised a hand, and Alabaster flinched. Lou Ellen smiled.

“Hey, Al,” Jason said, putting a hand on the scrawny boy’s shoulder. “Keeping your sword form up?”

Alabaster huffed, “I’m a mage, not a soldier. I shouldn’t be expected to deal in things other than runes.”

Jason smiled, ‘You can do it! Just keep up the practice and soon you’ll be a master of both.”

“How can I help you folks?” Lou Ellen asked. She had on her usual mischievous grin. Ready to cause trouble.

“We need to go into the sea,” Percy explained. “Jason and Nico need a way to breath underwater.”

“And so you came to us for help?”

“Yeah. Figured you could, maybe, give them gills or something?”

Lou Ellen shook her head, “No, Hecate is about controlling the mist. What you’re describing is divine transformation. I can’t just turn you half into a shark. That only works in Harry Potter.”

Alabaster didn’t bother stifling his laugh.

“How else are we supposed to help Triton fight Lamia?” Percy threw his hands up in defeat.

“Excuse me, what did you say?” Alabaster said loudly.

“We’re supposed to be helping Triton.”

“No, Lamia. You said Lamia?” Alabaster’s face was getting flushed.

Nico felt the tension rising, and he slowly moved his hand towards his blade.

“Oh gods,” said Jason, “Didn’t you have to fight her by yourself when Gaea was waking?”

“Yeah,” he replied, eyes getting dark, “I was running from her for almost a year before she finally killed my friend and ran off.”

“Oh,” said Percy, not sure how to console him, “I’m so sorry, man. We don’t actually know what’s going on, though. It was just Chiron’s guess. We just know we need to find Triton.”

“Yeah, well,” Alabaster laughs, but there isn’t much humor to it. “She won’t be coming around here anytime soon. That’s the only reason I was allowed into camp. The monsters are so afraid of what I know they won’t come near me.”

Lou Ellen threw an arm around Alabaster. “Our favourite little electric fence, right here.”

“Is there anything you guys could do to help us before we leave?” Jason tried.

Lou Ellen scratched her head, “Well,” she paused, “Al you were working on a potion based off that spell o’ yours, right?”

Alabaster grimaced, and it was smile Nico had seen in his own reflection enough times to know that it meant danger.

-<>-

They trudged towards the beach, assuming they’d just figure it out. If it was an urgent quest, Chiron would have called together an actual team, instead of hiring Percy the Errand Boy and his Tagalong Pals. “I hope one of his daughter’s doesn’t fall in love with us land-walkers.”

“What?”

“The Little Mermaid? Come on, guy, what do you even do in the Underworld,” said Percy with exasperation.

Jason pointed, “Oh, I think I’ve heard that one. The girl turns into foam, right?”

Nico made an ‘O’ shape with his lips. As per usual, he talked with his hands, and he wagged his pointer finger,  “Oh yeah, and her feet bleed all the time.”

Percy shook his head, “No, what? No. That sounds like a nightmare. I’m talking about the happy singing fish and mermaids and—“ he threw up his hands, “Never mind, we’ll watch it later. Nico, add it to the list.”

“What list?”

“The list of movies we need to watch. Jason, you’re invited too.”

“Oh, thanks. What’s on the list so far?”

“ _Finding Nemo_ , _Hercules_ , and _How to Train Your Dragon_. Oh and add _Paranorman_ , too, I think you’ll like that one,” Percy said with a smile.

“We’re watching children’s movies?” Jason’s voice raised a few notes higher than a normal question.

Percy sighed, “It recently occurred to me that I had the closest thing to a ‘Normal Childhood’ out of everyone, so it’s probably my responsibility to make sure you don’t all miss out on the magic of these movies.”

Jason laughed, and punched Percy lightly in the shoulder. “If you say so, dude. Maybe we can take a trip to Disneyland, too.”

Percy raised his hands in disbelief. “Please, Grace. Disney _world_ is where it’s at.”

They both looked back at Nico, who was ambling in the rear, and parted a little, making room for him to walk in between them.

At the shoreline, there were a few hippocampi playing in the surf. Percy called out to them, “Hey, have you guys heard anything from Triton?”

-<>-

They hopped on the backs of the hippocampi, and went out maybe two miles, but Percy assured them it was only 1.7 nautical miles. Out here the waves were choppier, but the sea was relatively calm and the ride was more or less smooth. Nico didn't like being this far at out sea. It was potentially as far from underground as you could get, and being this seperated from his father's realm was making him antsy.

The hippocampi chirped. “Down? What do you mean he won’t come to the surface?” Percy clenched his teeth, and his expression read, ‘ _This fuckin’ guy.’_

He looked back at them, “I could go down alone. They can take you back up to camp.”

Jason raised his eyebrows. “Could, yeah. What’s our other option?”

“We go down in a bubble.”

“Bubble it is,” Jason smiled.

They couldn’t go down very far. As the pressure increased, the bubble threatened to pop, so after a few minutes of drifting into the depths they stopped, and Percy spoke with a passing school of fish.

“Oh gods they said he’s having a problem with his daughter.”

“Is his daughter Lamia?”

“No clue.”

“Maybe she already fell in love with you. This is all a ploy to snag the land boy in her embrace.”

Percy looked horrified, and Nico couldn’t tell whether or not he was faking it.

As they chatted, a figure rose from the depths. A large merman with shoulders covered in barnacles and a massive conch shell in his hand leveled with them. He was bigger than a human, to be sure, but not as large as an Olympian. In his hair, corals grew, and fish swam in and out of it like a small reef.

He looked annoyed, probably because he had to leave his chambers in order to accommodate their human needs.

“Hello Lord Triton,” said Jason.

“Hey, uh, bro,” said Percy, and then flinching, as though the words were a wound on his tongue.

“Hello Perseus,” Triton managed. “And friends.”

His voice bellowed, vibrating their bubble’s walls dangerously.

There was a pause, Percy looked to Jason, made a helpless expression, and then Jason said, “We’ve heard you are plagued with troubles, Lord Triton. Is there any way we can be of service?”

Triton harrumphed, muttered something that sounded like, “As if,” and then cleared his throat.

Triton sighed, “My daughter, Scylla, is cavorting with this minor sea god, Glaucus, and it’s completely unacceptable. She’s just a bit younger than you lot. I can’t imagine land romance is the same, but I didn’t know who else to ask. All the women are charmed by Glaucus, and the men are too busy fighting their usual skirmishes. No one has time to give fatherly advice anymore, and when Tyson recommended you, I figured it was my last hope.”

Percy scratched his chin. He looked over at his friends.

“Well, you know, when my mom was in a bad relationship,” he said, “I sent her the head of Medusa so she could turn him to stone.”

Triton raised an eyebrow. “I hardly think we can get a Medusa head at the bottom of the sea.”

Jason whispered, “Did he really do that?” Nico nodded.

“Well, ah, Triton, we heard that the problem had to do with Lamia, actually,” Percy said.

Triton snorted, which ended up as a short series of bubbles popping out of his gills. “Lamia is the one who set them up. She’s Scylla’s mother, you know. Never had her daughter’s best interest at heart. Only looks out for herself.”

“ _Sounds_ like a monster,” said Jason.

“So what’s wrong with Glaucus?” Percy asked. “How do you know she doesn’t really love him?”

“Even if she did truly love him, Glaucus comes with a sword of Damocles hanging over his head. The sorceress Circe has fallen for him, and well, it’s all rather messy. I simply need to know how to rid my daughter of this wretched leech.”

The boys in the bubble all looked at each other, unsure what to say.

Finally, Nico spoke up, “Tell your daughter she deserves better. She doesn’t need to settle for a minor god.”

Jason picked it up, “Set her up with somebody else. Somebody better. Meanwhile, make sure Glaucus knows where you stand.”

Triton mulled over this, “Interesting. It might work. Better than the Medusa head idea, at least.”

“Hey!” Percy called indignantly.

“Fine, I’ll try it,” he said, waving them away. “You’re dismissed.”

A geyser rumbled beneath them, and then shot them up, and they each let out a yelp as they crashed over the surface, tumbling off their steeds, everybody soaking wet except for Percy.

“Jeez, no ‘thank you’, even?’’ Percy whined. “Remind me to never let Chiron talk me into a family reunion again.

-<>-

As they shuffled out of the sea, Nico pulled Alabaster’s potion out of his back pack. “What should we do with this?”

The liquid inside the bottom was blacker than any of his shadows. It looked like it was made from essence of Nyx.

“Might as well keep it, yeah?” Percy stretched, and a sliver of skin appeared where his shirt lifted up. Nico licked his lips, and then felt the burning rising in his chest again, so he pushed it down. He put the potion back in his bag.

“You guys want to get dinner? We haven’t even missed the barbeque. Probably in about half an hour,” Percy said, still rolling his shoulders.

“Sounds great, but Piper and I were going to have a date night, I think.”

“Ah, man that’s a shame. We could've had the big three all reppin’ at the head of the hall.”

Jason put his hand on Nico’s back, and Percy looked a little surprised. “I’m sure you and Nico can, uh, rep it just fine.”

“Alright, then, you and me di Angelo,” Percy said, “It’s a date. I’m gonna go, ah, wash off.” He forced a smile. Nico knew what was happening. Now that he no longer had something to focus on, he was slipping back into his sadness. Nico didn't know what to say, though, and Percy started up field ahead of them.

Nico felt like he was going to vomit.

“Jason,” Nico growled, “don’t leave me alone with him.”

Jason just smiled, “He doesn’t bite.”

Nico’s expression became more desperate.

Jason ruffled his hair, “Fine, sit alone if you want. Or with Leo. Or hey, with Chiron. But if you’re both sitting alone, you might as well sit together, yeah?”

Nico batted his hand away and pushed his mouth to one side, as if considering it, “Yeah. Maybe. Yeah. Or I could just leave.”

Jason gave an affectionate sigh, “You could,” he said, “But do you want to?”

Nico looked across the field to where Percy was jogging, a spot of orange and black against the green grass.

“No. I don't.”


	4. Tasks Three-Seventeen

The summer ended, and many of the campers left in the usual sad states of despair. Percy wasn’t the only kid who, growing up, saw this camp as his real home, and every other dwelling as a barely-passable respite.

Chiron assured him there was more work to be done, so he stayed put as the leaves began to slip into their fall clothing.

Percy had dropped out of high school after the war with Gaea, because honestly, why bother getting a diploma when you could control the sea? It didn’t help that his ADHD was so much worse now that every time his mind wandered, it drifted back into the pit. He sometimes struggled maintaining conversations, and couldn’t even hope of staying focused through a pre-Algebra lecture.

Without Annabeth’s tutoring, he wouldn’t even have gotten his GED, but she said something about how hot boys with education are, and sat on his lap and gave him big, wide eyes until he said, “Fine! But what in Hades name is a catcher in the rye.”

She smiled, and gave him a kiss that was half a laugh, and said, “We’ll get the audiobook.”

Annabeth coached him through all five subjects, squeezing his hand or kissing his cheek when his eyes started drifting off, the contact bringing him back onto the right plane of being. When he came home with a 2300, she was so proud she jumped on him like a monkey, and he carried her across the apartment to his bedroom where he could show her his skills not testable on any state exam.

Throughout the next few months, Chiron gave Percy a variety of errands, and Nico came along for most of them. Others came at random, but most of them had jobs or college, and often it was just the two of them, wandering around, cleaning up messes and going from side-quest to side-quest.

Between quests was the hardest, because no matter happened, he still missed Annabeth. She wasn't something to get over. He couldn't build a bridge, or dig a trench, because she wasn't a river, she was a vital thing inside his chest. They hole left by her absence was as bad as losing a limb. Worse, even. Between errands for Chiron and his cronies, Percy sat in his room trying to figure out what he could do to win Annabeth back.

He and Nico did watch the movies on the list together over the course of the next few months, sitting in the Big House with the year-rounders watching the too-small television screen and DVDs from the camp’s Netflix account.

Like Percy suspected, Nico loved Paranorman. He thought he saw the younger boy (younger man? Nico was seventeen now, but Percy somehow thought that Nico would always be a kid to him) wipe a tear away with the sleeve of his jacket.

They both started teaching at lessons, “Earn your keep!” Coach Hedge shouted, throwing baby bottles at them both, “Stop slacking off you no good—“

Nico still disappeared every once in a while, for days at a time, and Percy was always thrilled to see him return. After a few nights passing, seeing his friend dissolve out of a shadow made his heart beat quicken in what he could only imagine was pure joy.

-<>-

Task Three (“Hebe’s run off with some young man. Get her back to Olympus before dinner.”)

“Why does she have to be shirtless?” Nico’s face was in his hands, rubbing his eyes as if trying to get the image out. This was the first time that Percy wondered if maybe the reason Nico had never had a girlfriend had something to do with him not liking girls.

-<>-

Task Seven (Picking flowers for Chiron’s party.)

“Can’t somebody from Demeter do it?” Percy asked. “Or a nymph or satyr or something?”

Chiron shook his head, “They’re busy getting ready for the harvest, and anyways, when they grow it’s usually miscellaneous things, and I have a list here of exactly what I want. You can go to the different fields to get them.”

Percy glanced at Nico, who was as quiet as ever. Chiron handed Nico the list.

“Hyacinth, crocus, narcissus, anemone, cornflower, adonis, orchid,” Nico scratched his head and asked, “Is your party shoving murdered lovers in the face of the gods? Aren’t these all plants memorializing—“

“Yes. The party is in honor of the people lost under the feet of the Olympians.”

“Morbid,” Percy said.

“Necessary,” Chiron returned. “Everyone needs to be accountable for their actions, and guilt is the built in mechanism for remembering not to make the same mistakes again. Negative emotions are important to a healthy life."

Nico shifted from foot to foot, and they nodded and told Chiron they’d be back soon.

“I literally know none of these. I thought the only flowers were rose and not-rose,” Percy sighed.

Nico gave a crooked smile, and Percy was so taken aback he put a hand on Nico's shoulder, ready to pull him into a friendly side-hug, but Nico jerked away, and glared up at him. “Don’t touch me.”

Percy held his hands up in supplication. “Sorry.”

He wondered what it was about being touched the son of Hades hated so much. As they traveled, he thought about it. He let Jason touch him, though, every once in a while. He and Hazel were always affectionate. Maybe…maybe it was just Percy’s touch he hated?

Not that he could blame the kid. The only times Percy ever seemed to enter back into Nico’s life is to mess it up.

After a few hours, they reach the poppy field, where adonis grows, “Adonis is the field poppy,” Nico say softly. “It’s called the prince among the weeds.”

Percy made a ‘hmm’ sound but didn’t bother to ask why Nico knew so much about these flowers.

They gathered what they needed, and then Percy pulled a red one, especially pretty and in full bloom, and handed it to Nico, “For you.” He smiled as wide as he could, hoping to mollify the tension.

Nico lifted an eyebrow and took it by the end of the stem, so that their hands didn’t touch. He stared at for a moment, and then said, “You know red poppies symbolize death, right? Ever since WWI. When I was little people would wear them on their jackets in memory of loved ones who died in battle.”

Percy smiled slightly, “Maybe that’s the recent one, but I seem to recall,” he paused, “Someone telling me that originally they meant resurrection. The promise of life even after passing through the halls of death.”

Nico looked at the flower, and then at Percy, his expression incredulous. He threw it over his shoulder.

Percy didn’t see him pick it up again, but he must have, because days later he found it sitting in a glass of water on the sill of Hades’ cabin.

-<>-

Task Ten (“Find out why Argus has a cow all of a sudden.”)

“Where would Argus even get a cow?”

“That’s one heck of a pretty cow.”

“You know Triple G Ranch had cows too. Apollo’s sacred cattle.”

“Oh right, I forgot you were there.”

“I’ve been to almost all the places you’ve been, Percy.”

“Don’t sigh at me like that, come on…huh I guess it’s true though.”

“Oh my gods, look, look at the cow.”

“Is that Hermes? It looks like he’s playing a pipe.”

“And now they’re fighting?”

“Go Argus, go!”

“Keep your voice down!”

“Go Argus, go.”

“I think we’re supposed to root for the gods.”

“Oh man that was a tough blow. The cow looks scared.”

“Why are we even here?”

“Argus is down!”

“I can see that.”

“The cow is turning into…a girl?”

“Now she _really_ looks scared.”

“They’re talking. ‘Gee miss you sure do look better as a human. Ever thought of making demigod babies?’”

“Not funny, she looks like she’s been through a lot.”

“Ouch! Jeez, okay. Should we go help, then?”

“I’m not sure what we could do. Shit, cover your eyes!”

“I’ll never get used to that light.”

“That was anti-climactic. What do we tell Chiron?”

“I have a feeling he’ll know better than us whatever just happened here.”

-<>-

Task Fifteen (“Thalia’s requested some help at a rally she’s organizing.”)

“Shouldn’t you be, you know, hunting monsters? With the Hunters? That’s your thing, right?”

“Our _thing_ is protecting the innocent from monsters. But not all monsters have fangs and claws, Percy. Sometimes the worst ones are just ideas.”

Percy rubbed the back of his head, “I’ve fought some pretty fierce fangs and claws, though.”

Thalia shook her head, and let out a frustrated huff, “Percy you have no idea what’s it like. You couldn’t. Ask Annabeth what it’s like be the only girl getting an Architecture degree. Ask Hazel what it’s like to walk into a room and know the first thing someone thinks when they see her is, ‘black.’”

“I guess I get it,” he said slowly, unsure whether or not she even wanted him to understand.

“Straight white male,” Thalia said, pushing a finger to Percy’s chest. It was sharp, even through his winter coat. “Gods, you could even learn something from Nico.” She motioned to the younger boy, who was pretending to be a shadow.

He twitched, “Um.”

Percy stepped in front of him. “Okay, so what do you want us to do?”

Thalia didn’t miss a beat. “I want you to remove whatever social frame you’ve been bred with and build a new one that doesn’t revolve around stepping on people who are different from you.”

Percy didn’t think he was the problem here. Maybe some people were like that, but his mom always taught him that everyone was equal. Surely he wasn’t as bad as Thalia seemed to think? At least, he hoped so.

Then Nico spoke up, “And how are we supposed to do that? If it’s something you’ve been raised with, how can you change the way you think?”

“You have to keep your identity separate from your opinions,” Thalia explained. “Hatred isn’t an identity. Your opinions should be, like, ah, like slips of paper that you carry around in your pocket. If you see a better one, you can take out the old one and replace it. But if you get them tattooed on your body and they become part of who you are, then you won’t be able to change it out. You’re stuck.”

Nico nodded his head imperceptibly.

“If you want to always be right, then you need to always be prepared to change your mind,” Thalia finished.

There was a pause, then Percy said, “Is there anything we can do to help right now?”

Thalia grinned, and shoved some neon papers at them, “Pass these out, please.”

-<>-

Task Seventeen (“Rachel wants to decorate for her cave for Christmas. The nymphs don’t understand what that means.”)

“Are we even allowed to celebrate Christmas?” Percy asked as they walked through the department store. “Is it sacrilege?”

Nico almost wandered into a Hot Topic but Rachel pulled him out by the collar, “Nope!” She said, “You’re not that kind of boy.”

“But I need a new shirt,” he said with a frown. He looked back at Hot Topic, where one whole wall was covered in shirts strikingly similar to his eternally black with skeletons one. He pulled at his collar. It was clearly getting too small.

The three of them went in and out of various stores, and as Rachel found more and more decorations she liked, Percy and Nico became more and more laden with merchandise, until they looked more like piles of Macy’s bags with legs than young men.

“Just one more!” Rachel said, walking towards them. Both boys groaned. “Who has a free arm?”

Percy peaked around the edge of his pile, “Is that a garbage bag? Full of tinsel?”

Rachel’s smile stretched across her face so wide she looked a little insane, “Exactly! It’s going to be perfect.”

As they passed by the cabins on the way to Rachel’s cave, she said, “The Hades’ cabin looks like a crypt. What’s it like on the inside?’

Nico hestitated, “It’s fine.”

“Yeah right,” said Percy, and then to Rachel, “It’s even worse. A mausoleum.”

Then Rachel said, “You’re both alone with like, two dozen beds, right? Why don’t you just hang out in the Poseidon cabin?”

Nico replied before she even finished the sentence, “No.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow, “Why not?”

“You’re always welcome, Nico,” Percy offered. And then for emphasis, “Definitely. Absolutely. But I understand if you don’t want to be separated from your dad’s element. I mean, I know how much comfort ocean theme in Cabin Three can be for me. Stuff like that can be important.”

Rachel turned to Nico, and narrowed her eyes. She smiled with half her mouth. “Maybe you like the ocean, too?”

Nico shook his head, “I’m fine.”

But that night there was a knock on Percy’s door, and Nico said, “I just wanted to see what it’s like.” Percy held the door open as wide as his smile.

Nico stumbled over the threshold with his arms crossed over a pillow and looked around as though he’d never seen the place before.

He slept that night on the bed neighboring to Percy’s. Percy didn’t sleep. He watched Nico’s back as it rose and fell and thought, ‘I’ve known him longer than anyone else. I’ve seen him when he was young and I ruined him, and now, now he’s here and I have to take care of him.’

On Christmas morning Percy sat with Rachel and Nico and a few of the year-rounders in the tight space of Rachel’s cave, each with a present or two wrapped neatly in colored paper and tucked into their lap.

“Rachel, you really didn’t have to—“

“Nonsense! It’s the least I could do after you guys helped me decorate,” she gestured around the room, which was almost completely covered in tinsel. There was no tree, but she had crafted a triangular structure out of cardboard tubes, wrapped up in rainbow lights to make a flashing cone that’s only indication of Christmas affiliation was the bulbs with hand drawn doodles of various prophecies hooked in at select junctions around the girth. It was topped with something that looked like the Olympic flame, and he was pretty sure, yeah, this had to be sacrilege.

Percy and Nico exchanged a look.

“Present time?” a girl asked. She was maybe eight years old, from Demeter cabin, and the youngest Percy had ever seen at camp. He thought about how Annabeth was just like her once, barely grown with nowhere to go.

“Present time!” Rachel threw up her hands, as if to signal the start of a race, and the younger kids attacked their paper wildly. Giggles chorused over the hum of carols playing on Rachel’s speakers.

Percy’s was small, and he wasn’t sure what to expect, but an iPod fell into his lap. It was bright pink and covered in worn stickers. Curled up and taped to the back was a new set of ear buds. He felt his face flush hot. He leaned over and whispered low enough that the kids wouldn’t be torn from their revelry, “This is too much!”

Rachel quirked her brow, “A hand-me-down iPod? Too much? I spent zero dollars on it, Perce.”

“Yeah, but,” he floundered.

She put a hand on his arm, “Get me something sparkly to make up for it, yeah? Maybe more tinsel.” She beamed around her room.

On his other side, Nico was silently opening his gifts like they were time bombs, making sure to keep the wrapping perfectly intact. Finally, he shook the first one out, and there was a sweater, which at first appeared to be a standard Norwegian print, but upon closer inspection was designed with skulls and swords, all in monotone shades. Nico’s face lit up as bright as the Christmas cone, he smiled softly at Rachel and his eyes glittered.

He shook out the other one, and a black shirt appeared. He stretched it out, and he smirked. “I think I’m sensing a theme.” He turned the shirt to face Rachel, and she smacked Percy’s arm.

“I thought I told you skulls were my idea?”

“Yeah, and I thought it was a really good idea too!” he laughed. The shirt depicted a parade of dancing skeletons, kicking up their legs and laughing along to some unknown song.

Nico stared down at his gifts, and emotion creeped up his face. He said quietly, “Thank you.” Then he looked over at them and said it again, “Thank you.”

“It’s no problem, dude, duh,” Percy said. But Nico already rising, saying something about having to go.

Percy looked at Rachel, but she shrugged and shook her head, “No clue. But I can tell you he’ll be back.”

That night, after Percy walked the kids to their cabins and made sure all their lights were off, he shuffled back to Cabin Three, ready for another night of feeling sorry for himself.

When he started to take off his shoes, though, Nico slipped into being, panting slightly as though he’d been running.

“Hey, are you okay?” Percy rushed up to his side. In Nico’s hand was a red flower. He thrust it at Percy, shoulders still heaving.

“For you,” he managed between breaths. “You went through Tartarus too. We both need reminders that there’s life after the Doors of Death.”

Percy smiled, reached for the flower, and held Nico’s hand as well. And for once, Nico let him. Maybe that was the real present.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyy dk here. comments and kudos are great motivation for me to keep going. leave one if you like, or hey, don't. im a mysterious sentience in your computer, not a cop. 
> 
> and maybe buckle up, kiddos, cause the next chapter involves a new year's ball, a punch in the lips with some other lips, and will mark the end of part i.


	5. Task Eighteen

Task Eighteen

“What you’re describing is a bouncer,” Percy assured Chiron.

“I don’t really see making sure the wrong kind of people don’t get into Janus’s ball as having anything to do with bouncing,” Chiron replied, incredulous.

“We’re bodyguards?” Nico asked.

“No, bodyguards guard bodies. We’re just keeping the riff raff out of the party. Like a bouncer.”

“Well, bounce if you must,” Chiron still seemed confused, “But just keep an eye on things. You’re two of the most successful heroes of history. I’m sure you can handle it.”

They wandered back to the cabin, stopping along the way to chastise some kids for not using their powers during a snowball fight.

“It’s good practice!” Percy told them. “Like sparring but more fun.”

For emphasis, he surprised each of them by forming snowballs just above their heads and letting them drop. “Hey!” “Percy, you jerk!” “Nico, don’t let him get away with this!”

And they ran, giggling like fools, with a mob of eight kids chasing after their backs.

Nico slammed the door shut behind him, and immediately ran into Percy’s broad chest. Percy put a hand on Nico’s shoulder to steady himself as he peeked out the window next to the door. As soon as he did, a series of slams against the glass told them the kids were still there.

“We have to plan a counterattack,” Percy started, but Nico ripped himself away so fast, Percy stumbled backwards.

“Whoa hey, what’s wrong?” Percy asked.

Nico shot him a dark look, “I don’t like being touched.” He sat down on the bed he’d claimed as his and started wrenching off his snowy boots.

“Um,” Percy glanced over his shoulder out the window, and then turned back. “Sorry. But dude, I mean, is it something you want to talk about? I’ve got your back. Well, not literally, I guess, because that would involve touching but—“

“Just don’t, okay? Don’t bother!” Nico shouted.

“Don’t bother with what?”

“With _me._ ”

“What the fuck, Nico,” Percy laughed bitterly. “I know you don’t really like me, but—“

“Gods, of course I like you, we’re friends, just—“ Nico interrupted, “I don’t even know why I’m here. I should leave. You can get Jason to help out with the ball thing, right?”

Percy sat down across from him. “Hey,” He stared at Nico until it was so awkward that Nico had to look back. “You’re here because we’re probably two of only three people ever born so distinctly qualified to understand each other.”

Nico’s eyes flickered up, but he didn’t say anything.

“You can leave if you want,” Percy said, raising his palms. “I’m your friend, not your warden. But you’ll always have a place by my side, man.”

Nico looked away. Wiped his nose with the back of his hand, paused, and took off his other boot.

-<>-

Nico looked over at Percy, “You can’t honestly plan to wear that.”

Percy looked down at his outfit. It was a brown suit his mother had gotten him a few years back. He’d obviously grown a few inches since then, so the tops of his ankles peeked out, and his chest was too broad to fit the buttons of the jacket.

“Gods,” muttered Nico, “I’ll figure something out.”

Despite his penchant for wearing the same outfit pretty much all the time, he had inherited a fairly good sense of fashion from his father, the God of Wealth.

Nico himself was dressed in a white button up with a black collar and cuffs. The collar was embellished with intricate silver tips, and along the front of the shirt small silver pearls were carved into skulls and used as buttons. Black fitted pants and black leather shoes completed the outfit, although he’d changed out his usual black chain for a silver one. His sword hung off his hip and he actually tried combing his hair but gave up halfway through.

The outfit he picked for Percy was just as striking—a thin black blazer over an even blacker vest, a pastel blue shirt with seersucker stripes and a dark, complementing tie patterned like ocean waves. His shoes were blue and white oxfords, and the overall ensemble made Percy look even more like a male model than usual.

Percy shifted into his outfit and glanced at his reflection. He looked uncomfortable. “Are you sure I have to wear so many layers? I feel like it’s gonna be hard to fight in this.”

Nico shrugged, “I doubt anyone, besides maybe Dionysus, is going to actually attempt to crash this thing.”

“Hmm,” Percy still looked uncertain, but he didn’t seem displeased with the overall outfit, which made Nico’s heart flutter with pride. “You did good, kid.” Percy turned to smile at him, “Thanks.”

-<>-

The party took place in a ballroom in Manhattan, near Olympus, so the lesser beings didn’t have to travel far from their favourite haunt. Gods forbid Hebe wander off again. Nico shook his head to get the images out of his mind.

Nico and Percy arrived early, but soon guests were pouring in, all in their best gala-wear. The Muses set up stand at a dias in the middle the room, and besides the usual lyre and harps, he also noticed a keyboard and an electric guitar. Apparently the gods weren’t the only ones with aspects shifting to match the times.

Percy and Nico stood on either side of the doorway, trying to look official. The gods took no notice of them, brushing past like they thought they were, well, divine beings. A few nymphs stopped to talk to Percy, and Nico felt the burning rise so he pushed it away. He’d been pushing it away more and more over the past few months, but it was getting harder. Every time Percy smiled at him, he pushed it away. Every time Percy thought about Annabeth (which was obvious, because it was the same expression every time and it happened multiple times throughout the day), Nico could feel the burning rising, and he pushed and pushed and imagined it being carried away by the breeze or washed away by a river or buried deep underground until he felt numb again.

He wondered if maybe he was pushing it away at all, just pushing it down, bottling it up, like corpses in an overfilling grave, and maybe soon he would burst.

Nico didn’t realize he’d zoned out until Janus stepped up onto the dias, tapped on the Muses’ microphone, and started clearing his throat. “Ahem!”

“Tonight is a night of beginnings,” said Janus’s right face.

“And endings,” said Janus’s left face.

“Many of you will have to make a choice tonight,” they said in unison.

“Some good.”

“Some bad.”

“Some more important than others.”

Both faces squealed happily and he did a little skip and jump.

“But all choices must be made.”

“Because—“

“How does the saying go?”

“All flows, nothing stays.”

“Nothing endures but change!” The faces giggled simultaneously, each an echo of the other.

“Let the party,” the left face started.

“Begin!”

The crowd cheered, and glasses of nectar went up in the air, tapping against each other, tinkling and sparkling under the lights like the whole floor was a chandelier.

The decorations were stunning—elaborate tapestries in gleaming colors hung from the walls, and the whole scene was lit up in a way that only Olympian parties could ever be.

-<>-

The night passed in a bright blur. Janus wandered over to thank them, and ended up being even more confusing in the process.

His faces said, in unison, “This year was/will be difficult.”

“But grand.”

“You’ll experience new things.”

“And lose others you never even knew you had.”

“Um,” said Percy and Nico both.

Then the two-faced god downed some nectar with each hand, and passed the empty glasses to Percy and Nico before tottering away.

Similarly overwhelming, albeit less mind-boggling, interactions passed with various gods, but when Athena passed by and eyed Percy with a look so dangerous and full of I-told-you-so, Nico wanted to pull out his blade and scream.

Percy looked like he was about to throw up, so Nico said, “Don’t bother. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad. Especially not her.”

Percy gave him such a grateful smile that Nico felt his stomach flip, and then do a cartwheel, and then what was maybe a back hand spring off a cliff, so he stepped away and pretended to make conversation with a ghost.

At some point Dionysus did actually attempt to crash the party, and the boys tried to explain to him that he wasn’t invited, but he said, “Nonsense! I _am_ the party!”

Nico’s hand was on his hilt, but before a fight could even begin to start, Apollo reached over and grabbed the wine god, pulling him into the room, shouting, “ _Finally!”_ while the whole room started cheering.

Wine appeared in massive quantities, and a passing nymph filled the empty glasses from Janus before they could turn her down.

“Don’t drink that,” Nico warned, but Percy winked and took a huge swig anyways. His pupils immediately dilated and he winced hard, like he’d just gotten punched in the stomach.   

“Damn,” he whooped, “That’s got a kick almost as fierce as you, Ghost King.”

Nico pushed down the burning.

As the room got hotter, Percy took off his blazer, and he looked even more striking with all the blue showing.  

When the music picked up, Percy shouted at him over the cacophony, “Dance with me!”

Nico thought it was a joke, so he laughed, which Percy must have thought was an invitation, because he started dancing like a fool. There was some disco involved, and the running man, and when Nico didn’t start up too, Percy just danced in circles around him, clapping his hands and snapping.

At some point, when the party was starting to wind down, Percy shouted, something that sounded distinctly like, “Gods, you’re hot?”

Nico felt like he was going to throw up, the burning boiled up so fast, and his head turned so fast he probably got whiplash, “Excuse me?”

Percy didn’t even blink, “I said, ‘Gods, r’you hot?’ I’m gonna go take a breather in the hall, do you wanna come?”

Nico still felt sick. He was pretty sure Percy was the main cause, but the oppressive heat wasn’t helping. Maybe deities couldn’t sense temperature? He just nodded, and trailed after Percy, cutting through the drunken crowd. The closer he got to the door, the deeper the sense of dread in his chest. The burning was constant now, and he couldn’t seem to push it in any direction.

The hall was so quiet in comparison, he heard ringing in his ears. It didn’t help the anger that was forming in his throat.

Percy found some water (no surprise) and downed it, wiped his mouth with the cuff of his shirt, and turned back to Nico. “Thirsty?”

“No.”

Percy moved closer. His face looked nervous for a second, and then he said, “Hey, thanks for coming tonight. It means a lot to me,” he put his hand in Nico’s and squeezed, but Nico pulled away, hard. Fuck this. Fuck these feelings. Fuck everything.

Nico started raising his voice, “Don’t touch me.”

“What is your problem?” Percy nearly shouted, reacting to the sudden tension. “I thought you said we were friends!”

“No. We can never be _friends_ , Percy, I don’t like you like that!” Nico shouted back, and the ground started to shake beneath his feet.

“What does that even mean? You _told_ me you liked me!”

Nico’s hands were in fists at his sides, shaking with the strain of his anger. “Fuck you, Percy Jackson. Fuck you and your stupid, oblivious brain and your—“

Percy face contorted and his body tensed up. He rushed forward and Nico closed his eyes and winced, ready for a punch, but it never came.

Instead, Nico felt Percy’s hands clamp on his shoulders, and his lips press hard against Nico’s mouth. He felt Percy’s hands trail up to hold his face.

For a moment, Nico allowed himself to melt into it. His anger froze. In that brief span he registered several things. Percy smelled like the sea, salty and fresh and wild. Percy’s hands fit perfectly on either side of his face. Percy’s lips were smooth and just a little wet, like he’d just taken a drink, or licked them. Percy’s body was barely an inch away from his, and he could feel the heat radiating off him, sinking into to Nico’s skin and permeating his bones and sending the blood rushing to his head, leaving his legs weak and his head hot and—

But then his mind went into overdrive, and he shoved Percy away with both hands. He opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and just pushed him aside.

Percy caught his wrist as he rushed past, and Nico yanked it away. He glared. “Don’t touch me,” he said, but his conviction was faltering.

Percy matched his gaze, black meeting green like the night sky slipping across the sea. “You didn’t seem to mind thirty seconds ago.”

Nico snarled, “Don’t make fun of me.”

Percy managed to keep his own voice calm, but Nico could see the emotions boiling inside him, too. “Don’t touch you, don’t talk to you, don’t be nice to you,” Percy laughed bitterly, “What _do_ you want me to do?”

Nico felt the color rise to his cheeks again. His eyebrows knit together in frustration, “I don’t know.”

Percy took another step closer, his palms open. “Do you want to know what I want, Nico?”

Nico didn’t answer. Percy reached out to him.

“I want you,” he paused, but those were the only words Nico needed to hear. The words he’d been waiting to hear for the past several years. When Percy’s hands reached his arms, Nico didn’t pull away. He stood, completely still. “I want you to let me in.” He pulled Nico into him, holding him tight. “I want you to let me be a part of your life.” And then, Nico was crying, his tears soaking into Percy’s vest. The black fabric darkened. Blacker than black. “I want you to tell me what’s in your heart. I want you to let me touch you.”

Percy buried his face in the top of Nico’s hair for emphasis, kissing his head softly.

They stood like that for a long while, and then when Nico’s eyes finally ran dry, he started shaking his head. He started pulling away. He said, “No. No. Percy,” his voice cracked, “Endings. Tonight is night of endings.”

But Percy wouldn’t let him go. He held him even tighter, clutching to his white shirt like his life depended on it. “Tonight is a night of beginnings.”

-<>-

That night, in Cabin Three, Nico allows Percy to pull him across the three foot expanse between their beds.

“This isn’t going to work,” Nico said quietly.

“I can shift over more I think, sorry,” Percy scooched backwards to make more room for him. He kept his arms wrapped around Nico’s waist.

Nico shook his head, “No, not that. I--,” he hesitated. He didn’t want to look Percy in the eye so he buried his face in his orange shirt. “I’m 98% sure you’re still on the rebound. I’m pretty sure that you will _always_ be on the rebound, actually. You’re going to wake up tomorrow and get that lost look on your face and hate me. And if not tomorrow, then a week from now, or a month. But it’s inevitable.”

Percy put his hand under Nico’s chin and lifted it up, stared straight into his eyes, like he was searching for something. For once, he didn’t smile.

“Annabeth left because she wanted to find herself,” he started. “Maybe she hasn’t checked in because she wants me to try and find myself too.” He pressed his lips against Nico’s forehead. “And maybe I did.”

Nico fisted his hands in the fabric of Percy’s shirt.

“I won’t make any promises of the future, because the only ones who know what’s going to happen tomorrow and next week and next months are the Fates.”

“And Rachel.”

“The Fates, and Rachel,” Percy repeated. “And right now, both the Fates and Rachel seem to want us to be together.”

There was a moment of silence. Nico kept his hands clenched. “And Annabeth?”

Percy let out a soft breath, but he was holding back, like he was trying to hide a wound, “I don’t know. Please don’t expect me to know. Annabeth and I…”

“Yeah,” Nico let his fingers unclench, let the fabric loosen from his grip.

Percy must have sensed him slipping away, because he wrapped his arms around tighter, holding him in place.

“I can’t give you an answer,” he whispered, right in Nico’s ear, his breath hot and clammy. “But I’ll give you anything else I can.”

Nico turned his face, and they were so close his nose rubbed up against Percy’s chin. “I want…,” he started. He’d been thinking about it ever since Percy asked earlier, back at the ball. But he hadn’t figured it out yet. “I still don’t know what I want.” He raised a hand to Percy’s chest, and stroked it softly. “But it’s probably right here.”

“Awesome,” he announced, the smile finally gracing his perfect mouth again. “Either you’re a cannibal or you love me?”

“One of those,” Nico assured, and he let Percy kiss him again.

As their kiss deepened and Percy’s tongue pressed against the slit of his mouth, the burning came back in full force, starting in Nico’s chest and radiating out to all his extremities.

But this time, he let the burning out. Let it out on Percy’s lips and up and down his jaw and let it form bruises in the crook of his neck and scratches on his ribcage. When Percy grinned at him like a wild thing in the dark, Nico wondered if he’d ever stop giving this man what he wants.

 

 

**END OF PART I**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the last of what i had totally planned, so i can't make any promises about the next update. i guess ill gauge reaction to this and see what feels right? in the outline i made there are four parts, based off ovid's metamorphoses (meaning avenging gods would be next), and i do have thanksgiving break coming up hmmMmM.
> 
> lemme know what you think, holla at me over on galaxyknights.tumblr.com, etc etc et al.


	6. Change I

 

**PART II: THE AVENGING GODS**

_“Verily at the first Chaos came to be, and Eros, fairest among the deathless gods, who unnerves the limbs and overcomes the mind and wise counsels of all gods and all men within them. But next wide-bosomed Earth, the ever-sure foundations of all the deathless ones who hold the peaks of snowy Olympus, and dim Tartarus in the depth of the wide-pathed Earth.”_   the Speaker --  **Hesiod’s Theogony**

Change I

It happened within hours of their first kiss, shortly after dawn broke open the horizon.

Nico, tangled in Percy’s arms and too warm to leave, didn’t bother getting up to see what the blue light in the corner was. He thought softly, ‘It’ll take care of itself,’ and nuzzled his face deeper into Percy’s chest.

Percy’s chest.

Percy.

_Percy._

“Percy?”

Nico’s body tightened immediately, shot through with adrenaline and fear and it was all he could do not to sit bolt upright at the sound of her voice. At first he thought it was a nightmare, because it was scariest thing he could possibly imagine happening. Anything, anything would be better. Dracon attack? Bring it on! Annabeth Iris messaging immediately following his first romantic encounter with her fated paramour? He wanted to vomit.

“Percy? Are you there?”

Percy mumbled something cliché like “five more minutes” and extracted himself from Nico enough to pull the blanket over his own head.

“Percy, please.”

Her voice sounded weak. He’d never heard it like that before. It made him so angry. How dare she be fragile after what she’d done to Percy. How dare she sound at a breaking point, ready to crawl back to him.

Nico extricated himself nimbly from her boyfriend’s body, and because at some point he’d lost his own, threw on the nearest shirt. The warm smell of a breeze off the sea told him it wasn’t his. He used scentless detergent for a damn reason (to avoid the inevitable fluttering in his stomach that he was currently experiencing).

“Percy, I’m sorry. I just—I really need to talk to you.”

Percy mumbled something slightly more coherent. Fuck, he was going to wake up. He was going to wake up and talk to Annabeth and she was going to woo him with a flip of her stupid blonde hair and they would skip off into the sunset and Nico would be alone again, with only the shadows and the dead to keep him company and no and no no no NO.

In a split-second decision he rushed over to the Iris message, coming from the side so she wouldn’t see him approaching. He would just slash his hand through the image to dissolve it before she could cause any more damage.

“There’s something wrong at Camp Jupiter. Chiron told me to call you.”

Nico stopped.

He stepped in front of the image. “Is Hazel okay?”

Annabeth looked surprised to see him, but it didn’t mask the worry on her face. He could see that it was still dark where she was, three hours behind Long Island. “Hazel’s fine. We’re all fine, for now at least. There’s something happening and we can’t figure out what it is. Is Percy there?”

Nico was suddenly aware of how ill-fitting Percy’s shirt was. It was clearly too large for him, and much older, the logo more cracked and worn in than anything Nico might own. What if she noticed?

“He’s asleep,” Nico’s mind raced. If it was something bad enough to give Annabeth this big a scare, how was Hazel taking it? She was tough, but still. “Don’t worry, I’ll get him there soon.”

Annabeth’s eyes narrowed, but she just said, with sincere calm, “Nico, thank you.” And then she was gone.

Nico turned around, and sitting upright in bed was Percy, staring at his hands. Nico went over to him, but stood apart, keeping his distance.

“You heard?” he asked softly, as though the world was still sleeping and whispers would keep it lulled.

“Yeah.”

“You should go.”

“ _We_ should go,” Percy looked up at him suddenly, blue eyes dark, like the trenches deep below the sea.

“She asked for you, not me. I’m not wanted.”

Percy reached out for him, grabbed his wrist, and his expression was so dear it made Nico want to cry, “Even if that _was_ true, are you really gonna let it stop you?”

Nico didn’t say anything, and Percy pulled him closer. His anxiety had taken away any desire for physical contact, but as soon as Percy slipped his hands under the thin fabric of his shirt, fingers warm against his chill hips, he melted into the touch.

Percy slid his hands up Nico’s sides, and then around to his back, caressing over his shoulder blades. Nico leaned forward, and Percy’s lips met his as he lifted up his arms to pull the shirt off. The kiss broke just in time for Nico to slide his head through the hole. He went back for more, but Percy was too busy wrestling the shirt over his own head.

Nico huffed in disbelief, and Percy laughed, “Sorry, I need it back.”

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, and Nico scrambled off to give him room to maneuver. When they were both standing, Percy leaned down the short height between their mouths and pressed another kiss against his face. He pulled back, smiled wide, and even though it was clearly forced, Nico appreciated the sentiment.

“Let’s go cause some trouble.”

-<>-

After the ordeal with Reyna and the Athena Parthenon, Nico was considerably more skilled at shadow traveling. It barely wore him out at all, and was probably less exhausting then jogging from place to place. He’d even incorporated it into his fighting style, taking advantage of the enemy’s own shadow to dissolve and dart around them. It certainly didn’t help his reputation for being part ghost, but he hadn’t lost a fight in three years.

They were at Camp Jupiter in minutes, swords at the ready, hair still mussed from sleep.

Neither had any idea what to expect, but certainly not the sound that greeted them. Or rather, lack of sound.

Silence.

The camp was impossibly still, and while he wouldn’t call it a home away from home, he’d spent enough time near New Rome to know that it was always bustling, even at times like this, in the dead of night. Legionnaires snoring, insects humming, trees rustling as lesser beings turned over in their slumber.

Percy took a step forward, and the sound was deafeningly loud compared to the absolute soundlessness of the camp.

The sky was just beginning to turn purple, but no birds were chirping.

Percy just looked at him. _A trap?_ Nico mouthed. He shook his head. The younger boy took a deep breath and called out, “Hazel?”

He almost thought his voice wouldn’t work. That the vacuum consuming all audio in the valley would steal his words as soon as they left his lips. But no, it just echoed, rattling the wind, so that Hazel’s name must have reached the tips of the mountaintops, waking the Ourae who lived there.

His nerves steeled, ready for something to burst out. He was so on edge that when the voice called back, “Oh Gods, Nico?” He nearly yelped.

He ran towards the sound and Percy followed close behind him. He was clear-headed enough to be worried about his friend. Would he be alright when they saw Annabeth? It was honestly probably a bigger concern than whatever else they might find here.

He spotted her curly hair bobbing around the corner before anything else, the cinnamon color the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen as a wave of relief rushed over him. He immediately pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

Trailing behind her was a large group, containing nearly all of their friends. Even Leo and Calypso were among them, holding hands. Everyone looked worried. Near the back, Annabeth was flanked by Piper and Reyna, looking like she could use a disappearing lesson.

He stood in front of Percy as if to protect him. Percy didn’t seem to mind. His expression was pure nausea.

“What’s going on?” Nico asked as Frank came to Hazel’s side.

“We don’t know, that’s the problem,” Hazel’s voice was shaking.

“The quiet,” Percy asked, “Is that all?”

They looked at each other, and then Reyna spoke. Following their adventure together, he had a soft spot for her, but it was more a begrudging camaraderie than anything else. “Do you know what today is?”

Percy and Nico exchanged a glance. Percy said, “New Year’s Day?”

“The Kalends of Janus,” Hazel replied.

“We just saw Janus,” Percy stepped forward now, and Nico almost felt disappointed. “We were at his ball.”

“It’s the day the consuls begin their new term,” Reyna pressed, shaking her head. “The augur takes the auspices for the following year.”

“Did something go wrong?”

From the back of the group, Annabeth huffed, “Clearly something went wrong, seaweed brain.”

Percy faltered, but kept going, “What?”

Nico felt himself shrinking into the background again.

“Frank, you were there with Reyna, can you tell?” Hazel pressed her hands against her boyfriend’s bicep.

“The auger…” Frank started.

“The new one?”

“Yeah. He—” Frank hesitated. "He was reading the signs, just like normal. And, well, you know, he’s not like Octavian was, he doesn’t use those weird stuffed animals. He reads the clouds and the weather and watches the way birds fly, and finds patterns and messages in life.”

“I already like him better,” Percy said with a small smile, but no one else joined him.

“He was doing the chicken dance,” Frank said, and seeing the look on Percy’s face, said, “Please don’t sing that stupid song in your head, it’s an actual thing. He throws special food for the chickens and sees whether or not they take it.”

“Not singing,” Percy promised.

“Well, they didn’t react. And then he tried the other rites, but nothing worked. Suddenly, nothing was getting through,” Frank continued.

“Did he lose his power?”

Reyna laughed bitterly, “No. That isn’t how it works.”

“He said it wasn’t even a problem with the connection. The way he explains it, it’s like a phone call with the Fates. They send each other coded messages back and forth, and this time there was just.--there was no one on the other side of the line.”

“They hung up?” Percy looked seriously confused.

“No,” Hazel shook her head. “They’re gone.”

“What was the last message he got from them?” Nico asked. “Maybe there’s some kind of clue what happened?”

“We should go talk to him,” Frank nodded. “He’s kind of shaken, so Jason’s keeping an eye on him.”

-<>-

The auger, Manuel Loxias, was sitting with his head in his hands, moaning slightly, when they walked in. Jason was crouched in front of him, hand on his arm, muttering calming litanies. He rose as soon as he heard their footsteps, “Manny’s getting worse.”

Piper knelt down in front of the boy and took over comforting him.

“Manny, do you need anything? Can we get you some water?” Calypso brought over a glass from the sink. Piper offered it but the boy didn’t pay any attention to her.

“Ask him what the last thing he remembers is,” said Percy.

Piper looked concerned. “Manny, we need to know what happened. Can you tell us the last thing you heard last night?”

Apparently her charmspeak could affect even the shell-shocked, because he finally looked up, and repeated weakly, “Tell you the last thing I heard?”  

Piper smiled softly, “Yes please. What did the Fates tell you right before they left?”

Manny shook his head, “Taken, they were taken.”

“How do you know, Manny?” Piper’s voice was so calm and smooth Nico felt himself leaning into it.

“They said, ‘Help,’” Manny replied, his voice rattling like chains.

“I remember,” Reyna countered, “You said help would definitely be coming this year.”

“You didn’t say for what,” Frank added.

Manny shook his head, and his voice gained more confidence, “No, I was wrong. They said ‘Help,’ they shouted it. They were screaming it. ‘Help, help, help, _help, help, help_ —“

He was rocking back and forth in his chair, tan fingers clawing at his ears, screeching the word over and over again. Piper tried to grab at his wrists to keep him from hurting himself. “It’s okay, Manny. It’s okay. They need help? They asked for help?”

Manny nodded, and the sound of his desperate cries sent chills down Nico’s back. 


	7. Change II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i recommend reading this chapter in the same way I wrote it: drinking milk tea, in a nest of at least four blankets and as many pillows, wearing no pants (because honestly, whats the point of having heat in the winter if not to turn it up high enough to not have to wear pants?). cheers.

Change II

Percy was caught up in not looking at Annabeth, in finding anywhere to rest his eyes besides her face (she looked worried), her hands (they were wringing at her waist), or any other part of her (she looked thinner—was she forgetting to eat again?), but it was impossible. If he was a compass, then she was north.

As the group discussed the next plan of action, and a son of Apollo came in to take care of Manny, Percy accidentally met eyes with Annabeth, and to his surprise she looked away first. Reyna leaned over and whispered something in her ear and they exchanged a meaningful glance.

It was only then that he remembered he had a companion of his own.

Behind him, Nico was melting into the shadows at an exponential rate. Percy reached out and grabbed him just before he slipped into the void, and pulled him out by the hand. Nico stumbled, and everyone looked over.

“You guys okay?” Jason looked a little too happy.

Nico ripped his hand from Percy’s, and the older boy felt a surge of guilt. Percy tried to give Nico a reassuring smile but he wouldn’t look back, just glared into the floor. Nico said, “Fine.”

“So, let’s go over what we know,” Jason said, trying to get the group back into focus.

“The Fates have been taken. They need help,” Piper counted off on her fingers..

“Anything else?”

“Nope, that about covers our latest shit storm,” Leo sighed.

“Should we send out a quest?”

“A quest would need a prophecy, and the auger is out of commission,” said Reyna.

“There’s still Rachel? And maybe Ella?” Percy tried.

“Rachel is tied to the Fates, too,” Annabeth countered.

“Maybe Festus can at least help us find a clue?” said Piper. Ever since their bonding experience with Khione and her brothers, Piper was a big Festus fan. She felt bad for turning him on permanently, and so she tried to get him involved in as many things as possible ‘so he doesn’t get bored!’.

Leo scratched his head. “Maybe.”

“How could he help at all? Hound dog after the scent of Fate?”

“Even if, it’s not like we have a scrap of their clothing.”

“Do they even wear clothes?”

“I saw them once, they just dress like really old ladies,” said Percy.

“Maybe they shop at Really-Old-Ladies-R-Us.”

“Guys, focus!” Jason said at the top of his voice. “Leo, can Festus help?”

Leo put on his most exaggerated thinking face. “Well, there’s no hound dog feature anyways, so that wouldn’t work. But he might be able to get us a line with Hephaestus to ask if he know anything about it.”

“'Might' is better than anything else we have, let’s try it.”

Half went and half stayed behind. Annabeth was in the first group, and Percy the second. He finally felt like he could take a breath.

Nico edged up to him, arms planted firmly against his sides, and now that his head was clear of Annabeth, Percy suddenly felt like the shittiest person in the world.

“I’m leaving.”

Percy almost sighed. If Nico really wanted to go he would just leave, slip into the shadows faster than a heartbeat and not reappear for months, if ever. The mere fact that he kept announcing it could only mean that he wanted Percy to convince him otherwise, and his heart soared for this kid, it really did.

Percy looked around. Frank, Hazel, Calypso, and Piper were still in the room. He tugged Nico’s hand and pulled him out of the cabin and into the light of dawn.

“Why do you want to leave,” Percy asked softly.

Nico gave a short, sour laugh. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Nico, it’ll be okay, I—we’ll be okay.”

“You’re so in love with her it’s suffocating, Percy. It’s just like before. When you guys are together--I thought I could handle it, but I guess I just forgot how _horrible_ it feels, seeing you look at her like the she’s the moon and sun and completely forget about everything, about _me_.”

The pain in Nico’s face made Percy want to cry, want to hold him and do anything he could to make him feel better. But how could he save Nico from a monster if the monster was himself? “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

They were still holding hands, and Percy reached up his other to hold Nico’s face. Nico flinched away from the touch, but Percy held it anyways.

“I was overwhelmed, you know? Because it’s been so long? But it doesn’t change anything between you and me. Remember what I said about our fates? If we’re together, if we have these feelings, it’s because we’re destined to. It’s meant to be.”

“That does sound like something Rachel would say,” Nico added, just to make Percy smile.

The older boy leaned in for a kiss and to his surprise Nico responded immediately, pressing his mouth open and invading with his tongue in a way that could only be described as possessive. Within seconds they were caught up.

It was different this time. Before, every kiss was slow and long, hesitant, like feet dipping into the water of a cool stream. Now, it felt urgent, like diving into a river and swimming against the current. Before had been want, but now was need.

Nico pressed him up against the side of the building,

Percy hooked his finger through the loop of Nico’s black jeans and pulled his hips closer, so they pressed against his. He kissed along the younger boy’s jaw, up to his ear, and then paused to tug on the lobe with his teeth. Nico squirmed against him, his breath hitching in the filthiest way.

Percy flipped them, so he was on the outside, and went in for more. All he could think was more, _more, **more**. _ Nico made a high-pitched noise into his mouth, and Percy pulled back just to look at his face, but as soon as his lips were free Nico whispered, “There are at least three ghosts watching us right now.”

“Will they tell anyone?”

Nico surveyed the area past his shoulder, “They might. They look like the gossipy type.”

“The whole camp might know in a few hours.”

“’Did, you hear? Percy Jackson had that Hades boy pinned against the Praetor’s cabin!’” Nico used a high, southern bell voice that could only be inspired by one girl, and added a little gasp as punctuation. “’Nico might even… _like_ Percy.’”

“’Percy might even…. _love_ Nico,’” Percy replied. He started in the high voice but let it drop at the end. Nico’s eyes were bright, suddenly. He looked so vulnerable, tangled up in Percy’s arms. “Good. I want everyone to know.”

And he moved down, so that they were kissing again, and he palmed Nico’s jeans just to make sure the ghosts had something juicy to talk about.

“We should go see what the others are up to?” Nico keened between muffled moans.

Percy backed away, but only because he could hear stirring around the corner. “Yeah,” he threw in one more soft kiss for good measure, and smirked. “Let’s go.”

-<>-

The Argo II was docked in an empty field near the stables. When they reached the galley, Leo was tinkering with various gadgets, and spoke with Festus in the whirring, machine language that creeped Percy out a little. Meanwhile, the rest discussed who should go on the quest.

“Didn’t Chiron say Percy and Nico specialize in mini-quests these days?” said Hazel.

“We’re certified errand boys,” Percy shrugged. “Just call 1-800-PER-CICO for all your miscellaneous demigod needs.”

Nico elbowed him in the ribs, a little too hard to be affectionate.

“Okay that’s two down. I wish I could go, but, I’ve been feeling like death lately. I would just drag you guys down,” Jason rubbed the back of his head and gave a wan smile.

“Frank and I have to stay here. If things are as bad as I think they’re going to be, the Legion will need us ready for anything,” said Reyna.

There was a pause, and everyone glanced at Leo, who was still fumbling around

“I’ll go,” said Annabeth. They all turned to her, except for Percy, who was inspecting the tips of his shoes as though they were something new and ineffable.

Before she could explain herself, though, Hephaestus’s voice crackled over the intercom, “Ey--what is this? You’re interrupting _Olympian Bachelorette_.”

“Heyyy, uh, Dad,” Leo seemed about as comfortable with his paternal relationship as the rest of the demigods did. So, not very.

“Leo? Hey kid,” Hephaestus grumbled. “I’m serious about getting back to the show. Can you call me back in like…,” the god checked his wrist, “maybe 110 years? Should be free then.”

“Humans only live eighty years. Half-bloods more like twenty,” Leo sighed. “Can you just help me something real fast?”

Hephaestus raised a horribly misshapen eyebrow. “Gods don’t just _help_ whatever hooligan gallivants in and asks for it, bucko. If you want my h—“

“The Fates are missing. Presumably in a hostile altercation. We’re going after them,” Leo rattled off like a police report.

This, at least, got his father’s attention. In his usual elegant manner, he responded, “What?”

“Since the Fates are gone, the auger and the Oracle are basically just two mortals who think they’re in Divination class. Is there any way to find them? Any, like, immortal Amber Alert we can send out?”

“Well,” Hephaestus sighed, “The Fates are funny, you see, because they only see forward, except for when they’re looking back.”

“Um?”

“Which leaves?” His father asked, in that voice that reeks of that ‘I-know-something-you-don’t-know-na-na-na-na-boo-boo’ superiority complex almost all the gods have. Leo looked at a loss. “Sideways, kid. They never see the present.”

“Oh cool! So,” Leo scratched his head. “So who sees the present.”

“You’re in luck!” The tips of Hephaestus’s beard lit up slightly with embers. “I do.”

“Great!” said Jason, leaning in so he could see the screen. “If you just tell what you see real fast, we’ll be out of your hair in a jiffy. I heard Oleander the satyr has a good chance of winning this next round of _Olympian Bachelorette._ ”

“Dude, really?” Leo turned to Jason in disbelief.

In response, Jason just smacked his back.

“Yeah, yeah, hold on. I just have to check the cameras. I’ve got a live feed of almost everywhere. Save a few of my own private hideaways.”

“TMI, pops,” Leo winced.

“Okay, 42.4347° N, 83.9850° W, remember that. Now I’ve really got to go,” the screen flickered back before Leo could even open his mouth to say ‘goodbye’.

Leo logged the coordinates into a holographic map.

“Well, folks, looks like you’re going to Hell,” the grin cracking across Leo’s face was enough to make Calypso hip-check him, even though she had no idea what ‘Hell’ meant.

-<>-

It took a few hours for prep before they were on their way. Percy spent this time avoiding any possible interaction with Annabeth.

They couldn’t shadow travel all the way, and Nico was worn out after the first two leaps, so they set up camp early. Luckily they’d grown out of the ‘monsters chasing after our scent and super pumped for fresh half-blood’ phase of their lives, and didn’t have to worry terribly about attacks during the night.

“Alright, dinner options, we’ve got a can of soup and some sandwiches and, uh,” Percy said, but Nico already reached into the bag and pulled out an apple.

“I’m fine,” he said groggily. “I’m sleep, okay?” He rolled onto his bag and passed out with the apple still in his hand.

Percy went over to him, smiling. He couldn’t help it. The way Nico’s lips pouted out while he slept—the way his eyelashes, thick and long as night, fluttered slightly against his pale cheeks. It was a sight he’d gotten familiar with the past few months in the Poseidon cabin, letting Nico’s calm, measured breaths and serene expression lull him into sleep. He was in such a reverie, he almost jumped when Annabeth spoke.

“We need to talk,” she said, with her wisest Daughter of Athena voice.

Percy felt a lump in his throat he’d been trying to ignore grow three sizes, “Yeah.”

They ambled a little ways away from the camp, just far enough that the fire was still visible through the trees.

Immediately, Annabeth was pressed against him, their bodies flush as she tightened in a hug. He wrapped his arms around her instinctively and hugged back, and gods it felt so good so have her in his arms again.

“I missed you,” she said, and the relief in her voice bordered on sobbing.

“I missed you too,” Percy said, lowering them both to the forest floor because his knees were starting to shake. He opened his legs and she slid between them, wrapping her legs around his torso like a koala on a tree.

“Did you find yourself?” he asked, stroking her back.

She made a vague movement with her head, “Kind of.”

“What did you find out?”

“That I—that whoever I’m supposed to be was with you the whole time.”

He pulled away to look at her face. Her eyes were welling with tears. “Then why didn’t you come back?”

She pulled his forehead to hers and looked at him, the kind of close where you can’t even focus on what you’re seeing. “Because I’m more stubborn than I am wise.”

She kissed him, and he was long gone. It wasn’t until a crow squawked and reminded him of where they were that he pulled back.

Shit, shit, shit, he’d done it again. He couldn’t keep letting himself be pulled in so completely. It wasn’t fair, not to either of them.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows, “Really? Percy, is this about,” she nudged her head towards their main camp.

“I—no, I just—he—you know,” Percy said eloquently.

“Really? With Nico?”

Percy didn’t know what to say.

“Honestly, I shouldn’t be that surprised. He always had a thing for you, anyone could tell.”

“I’m sorry, Annabeth,” Percy tried. “I wanted to be loyal to you, but you were gone so long and—“

“Loyalty isn’t even an issue here,” she sighed. “I mean, we were broken up, and well, me and Reyna may have—but anyways.”

Percy raised an eyebrow, but she kept going, “I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s over now. We can go back to you and me, like it’s supposed to be.”

She smiled up at him gently, and reached for his hand.

“Annabeth, no. It’s not that easy,” Percy rolled his shoulders, but didn’t move in any direction.

“What do you mean, of course it is. We’ll do this quest and then we can go back to New Rome and start that future we talked about, remember? You and me in a house with room for kids and—“

“Annabeth, I love him.”

She must have noticed her mouth was hanging open because it was obvious when she closed it.

“Do you still love me?” she asked.

Without hesitation. “Of course! I’ve always loved you, I always will.”

He knew her well enough to hear the thoughts going through her head. _Children of Athena do not stand for this. Daughters, especially. I can’t let him manipulate me, I can’t, but—_

But she gripped at his shirt and pulled him close again because right now nothing else mattered but giving in to all the aches in their souls that were named after each other.

-<>-

The next time they had to stop was just on edge of Chicago, and Nico immediately fell asleep again.

Percy and Annabeth careened into each other again like gunshot victims, clutching tight to shoulders and waists and hips for support. They were at it faster than rabbits, gripping at each other’s clothes, but as soon as Annabeth went for the buckle of his jeans, he stopped her.

“No, no, he’s right there,” Percy whispered. “We shouldn’t.”

“What does it matter?” she replied, her eyes the color of wood smoke, like the wispy trail of their favourite bonfire. “You picked me.”

“I didn’t _pick_ you, I didn’t pick anyone,” he said, narrowing his eyebrows. He stood up, and she stood with him.

“What do you want Percy, huh? What do you expect out of me?” She beat her fists against his chest, and he knew that if she really wanted he would be flipped onto the ground, so there must still be hope.

“I want you,” he said, imploringly, holding her chin and looking into her eyes.

Annabeth glared back, no mercy in her expression. “Yeah? What about Nico?”

“I—I want him too.”

“You can’t have both of us, you can’t just trade between us like two flavours of ice cream.”

“No, I mean, like both of you together. Like,” he made a twisting motion with his fingers, “Chocolate and vanilla twist.”

“You’re a pig,” she spat, and turned away, storming off and running her hands through her hair in frustration. She only got a few steps away before she was back, chomping at the bit, “You can’t have both, Percy. Nico and I, we--,” she paused. “We’re incompatible. Beach sand and corpse flesh twist. Nobody wants that.”

Percy shook his head, “Nobody would ever make those flavours.”

“Gods, it’s not about the flavours! Would you just listen to me?”

“I am listening, and I’m telling you, I can’t live without either of you,” his voice cracked.

“You’ve only been with him for days,” she said, “We’ve been together for years. You think you can really make that call after a span that can still be counted in hours?”

“Annabeth, I can’t pick, you can’t make me pick. Please.”

“He sold you out to Hades.”

“He wouldn’t have had to if I hadn’t screwed up his life so much to begin with. All he wanted was somebody to be proud of him.”

“And so then he chose you? That’s why he joined our side in the Titan war, right? That’s why he tried so hard, nearly got himself killed six ways to Sunday trying to prove himself to you? Are you proud of him now that he can get you off, too, Percy?”

“Annabeth, I—come on, you know it’s not—“

“He’s incapable of love.”

“You can’t say that, you don’t know him like I do.”

“I d—“

“But I _want_ you to. Annabeth, I want you to so bad, because I know, I just know that if you knew him, really knew him, you would fall in love. He’s so fierce, and honestly really really funny, and he does this thing where he looks really pissed off when he’s happy, but then you can get him to smile, and, oh gods, when he smiles it’s like the stars are falling out of heaven and I know it doesn’t seem like it, but you’re not that different, you’re both so smart, I mean you’re the smartest girl on the planet, but you’re both way out of my league, you know? And you’re both so strong, so guarded, like—“

“You’re right,” she said softly, and Percy was so busy trying to come up with more defenses, he almost didn’t hear her.

“What?”

“At least one thing we have in common,” she continued. Her voice was getting weaker and weaker. “We’d both do anything for you.”

“Annabeth.”

“Fine,” Annabeth whispered, “Fine okay. If you want me to play sister wives with Nico di _fucking_ Angelo I will.”

Percy trailed his fingers down her arm, staring at her face as it collapsed into desperation.

“But, when you were gone…during the Gaea thing, I mean...I felt so _lost_ without you, Percy. I felt like I was withdrawing from some life-saving drug and the way I missed you physically _hurt_. Every day, every hour, every minute, it hurt. I didn’t know whether or not it was even worth it to see you again, if it even would help.” She hiccupped a sob, “And then, in Tartarus, the only thing that kept me alive was knowing you were beside me. Was knowing that if we got out of there I could spend the rest of my life with just you. And these past few months were incredible, you know? Because I could do anything I wanted, and I tried so many things, went so many places, but nothing compared to just sitting next to you on the beach.”

Percy didn’t say anything, because sometimes no series of words has enough meaning to convey what you're feeling. So he just pulled her against him, hand wide and firm against her neck, pressed his lips onto her forehead, onto her cheeks, kissed away her tears

“Is that how you love him?” she asked quietly.

Percy waited. Held her as close as he could, buried his face in her hair, which still smelled like all his favourite things. And then he thought of how it was different than Nico, because his other love was taller, and he smelled darker and rougher and just as nice, but in a different way. “It’s how I want to.”

And Annabeth wondered if she’d ever stop giving this man what he wants. 


End file.
